Erwin

Thanks for the mod info. Am wondering if I need to patch my SH4. What is latest version? Re subsim.com does one have to join to d/l? Wow... what a vast amount of mods and info - bigger than BF site I think. There appear to be a very large amount of other mods. You have a recommended list in addition to the two you mentioned? Also, I notice subsim.com offers bonus mods in exchange for a donation. Are any of those good/worth it? And what is SH5?? Any good? Yes, I have been playing the SH4 Gold U-Boat campaign and am not too impressed. Too many times one gets ordered to patrol a sector, and then... nothing seems to happen for ages. Very realistically boring I suppose.

Plz let us know your findings. It's important info and shame that it can get omitted from briefings

"...so I can now move on and deal with the mechanics of adding..." OMG. I thought you were finished lol. Man, my hat is off to you.

Unfortunately, partitions are not the same as a separate HD. Am just asking whether Steam can be isolated on a separate HD/flash drive, so that there is no danger of contamination of my main HD and computer.

Am a big supporter of more "options". However, this one will make the game even harder and slower to play than currently. The immediate need is to streamline the CM2/3 UI and make other improvements which enable faster play by making the way we issue orders and get our pixeltruppen to do what we want more efficient and ergonomical. Once we can play a game in (say) half the time, that is the time to add options that (if chosen by the player) will slow the gameplay down again.

I didn't mean to attack you if that's what it sounds like. I said "mods" including graphics and sound mods. The point is that a lot of mods in the Z folder does slow down loading. We don't need to be pedantic about it. He may be correct in many other items. In this one, I think Ian's response was incorrect.

+1. Yes, the way CM1 calculated victory and ownership of VL's was far superior. IIRC it was based on the ratio of friendly to enemy present.

Very good. You've done an xnt job showing me why I would never want to make a scenario, let alone a campaign. However, "never say never"... Maybe one day I will be in jail and I will have the time... (er...hehe...?) Thank you...

Oh that's a good idea. Do you mean a separate external HD for Steam (eg a flash drive), and the higher speed internal computer HD for the games themselves? If so, will the games run if the "Steam HD/flash drive" is disconnected?

These detailed discussion are very interesting. Looking at the big picture, the lesson being learned (imo) is that guys like Saddam, Gaddafi and yes, Assad are actually more western oriented than their Islamic fanatic extremist peoples. History may well show that we were very naïve in removing them. We in the Euro-centric west Christian do not understand the ME mindset, and have unleashed hell on ourselves..

Well. yes, that was my point in my earlier post - if anyone bothers to look at the start of this thread re performance. And then Ian responds with this: "No, no, no, no, NO! That is not how loading mods works. How do I know? Empirically. It has been shown that mods have very little effect on load times." So you guys go fight this one out plz.

This very useful guide needs to be made a sticky, or better still, can it be uploaded as a single document to CMMODS or someplace for download?

Thank you. I just hate giving yet another corporation access to my computer for their nefarious uses. Yes, I am using my Win 7 machine for games exclusively. By "Program Features", do you mean the "All Programs" button accessed by pressing the Start button on the bottom left of screen? Or, do you mean the "Programs & Features" accessed thru the Control Panel? (Or does one have to delete everything "Steam" in both areas?) Loving my reinstall of SH4. I have sailed and cruised around French Polynesia and SH4 reminds me of the beautiful sunrises and sunsets as well as the sea. I know I can google for mods, but am hoping some SH devotees here have recommended mods and links.

I would hope that mods don't affect the loading time of games. However, I noticed much faster loading when I have no user-made mods. When I have around 17-20GB of mods the game loads much slower.

My understanding is that the computer system has to unload the default graphic to replace with the mod, and that slows the initial loading time. The more mods, the slower. What makes things even more complex is there are wonderful mods which duplicate each other - esp in sound mods. If the system has to load and unload and load multiple times that can really slow loading of he game (or at least that is what I seem to have experienced in my heavily modded games). I like the idea of the uncontroversially best mods being part of the default game. Trying to figure out which mods are best takes longer than playing the game.

Have always heard great things about IL2. I have joysticks and throttles around here someplace, plus maybe 40(!) unplayed flight sims (including all IL2 modules and MS Tank Platoon) all of which need those controls. Dam CM for being so addictive and time consuming! If only BF would stop making any more games (lol). CC series was fun for a while. Otherwise highly repetitive. Agreed, the elementary campaign aspect added a lot. Wish we had that in CM series. And so... any ideas on whether deleting Steam folders and files is sufficient, or is an uninstall required - (in which case where is the dam button??)

Wonderful news. I got SH4 Gold (with U-Boat missions) up and running. I used to love this series of games. So, all you experienced submariners... where do I get all the mods for this?

Just tried the same thing with another game I purchased: "Napoleon Total War". Same BS problem with Steam. Another game I have to trash without playing. Hope it was bad. ^%#%^ Steam! And I see in my Programs list that steam has installed itself on my HD. How to I get rid of it? Is it enuff to simply delete all Steam folders and files? I don't see any "uninstall" button.

I bought a version RO that comes with all the add-on packs including "Darkest Hour". But, on installation I find that I HAVE to have a Steam AC and the stoopid thing keeps telling me that I have no network connection, while I am connected to BF and typing this. Then I find that I have to agree to receiving marketing crap... So, I now have a copy of RO with all the add-on packs that I do not want to use. Grrr.... (How can one uninstall Steam??) Whatever happened to software one could buy and install without having to putz with some online BS? What a load of ****. Thank goodness BF has rejected all entreaties to publish thru Steam!

LOL Another gem of a new asymmetric weapons system: "In a variation on that idea, researchers pondered a "Who? Me?" bomb, which would simulate flatulence in enemy ranks. However, researchers concluded that the premise for such a device was fatally flawed because "people in many areas of the world do not find faecal odour offensive, since they smell it on a regular basis". Anyone you know...?

The other issue is the bizarre continued emphasis on nuclear weapons as the worst thing terrorists can get hold of. Bio-chemical weapons are much easier to obtain, much easier to hide and transport by a non-state actor. Imagine a weaponized highly contagious disease like Ebola for example? For the last 2 decades that is what has worried me and some of my colleagues far more than nukes.

"I rarely play the games now, I spend most of my CM time in the editor and so most of my 'play' is actually scenario testing. " One can appreciate your dedication. As one of the many players who benefit from the hard work of folks like you, thank you...

The problem is what happens IF a cyberattack can disrupt our water and food distribution, and even communications and power networks. For example, big urban metroplexes like Los Angeles with few exit routes would become deathtraps within days. Think of the South-Central riots and looting, but throughout the city. What kind of kinetic conflict will compete with millions of families, including that of troops, panicking and dying - rather like the effects of nuclear exchange. Yes, maybe we can "win". But, what does winning mean in this sort of situation? We have to be sure we can protect the population first, then we can deal with kinetic war plans.

Yes, it is very exciting that BF is committed to an updated version of CMSF.

Given that the next major war will almost certainly be dominated by cyberwar, it could be over in hours, perhaps minutes. That's why our interest in conventional tactical combat is more a fun entertainment exercise on how to fight the last war, and with little to do with how the next "big one" will be fought in RL.